A Winter's Tale
by sirensbane
Summary: Seth's first winter in Domino. Winter provides opportunities for snowball fights, righting wrongs, and making friends. But mostly for snowball fights.


"_Is there no deep magic, beneath winter's snow, that can make so wrong a right?" -_William Shakespeare: _A Winter's Tale_

* * *

Seth was woken from a deep sleep by a furious knocking on his bedroom door. Disoriented, he reached for the Millennium Rod, but missed and accidentally shoved it off the bedside table. It rolled across the floor.

"Seth?" Yugi, the Pharaoh's host, called through the bedroom door. "Seth? Wake up! It snowed!"

_It what? _After a few moments of puzzlingly over this queer statement, Seth decided he didn't much care and was just about to fall blissfully back asleep when…

"Seth?" This time is was the Pharaoh. "Get up. There's something I want you to see."

Perhaps he might have refused, had it been anyone else. But Seth had been conditioned his entire life to obey that voice. So instead, he opened his eyes.

The spare room where he was currently staying had been fitted out for his use. A bookshelf covered an entire wall, crammed with transcriptions of ancient Egyptian texts – the scrolls themselves were unavailable, even to an archaeologist of Ishizu Ishtar's reputation – and a few books written in the six other languages in which Seth was proficient, for variety. Beside it was the desk furnished with a lamp for reading, pens, and papyrus-no…_paper_ it was called in this time- and similarly stacked high with books. Yugi had even hung a few pictures in an attempt to make the room more cheery. One, a dragon, which looked so much like Kisara he had been unable to look at it properly for days, now occupied the place of honor above the desk.

For a few luxurious minutes, Seth just lay there. It was warm and comfortable beneath the blankets, and there being nothing in particular to entice him to move…

"Seth!"

_Oh yes._

Seth sighed, and swung his legs out of bed. He sat there for a moment, still partially stunned by sleep. After several minutes, he reluctantly allowed his bare feet to hit the floor and shambled across the room to retrieve the Rod. The cold air on his skin woke him somewhat, and the cold water he splashed on his face woke him up the rest of the way. He dressed quickly- pants and dark blue turtleneck- and pulled on a sweater to combat the chill. When he had first been resurrected, it had taken him some time to work out how to put everything on, but Yugi had helped him and together they had managed to get everything in the right place. Now, he could do it without much thought.

_Gods, it's cold. _

Thrusting the Rod through his belt, he opened the door. The Pharaoh was waiting on the landing.

"Seth," he said, favoring him with a warm smile. It was hard to resist such a smile, and Seth found himself smiling in return.

"My king."

The Pharaoh eyed him. "You look like you're still asleep," he observed wryly. "But trust me, this is worth it. Come."

Obediently, Seth followed the Pharaoh down the stairs and into the kitchen. Solomon Mutou was whistling as he made breakfast, and as Seth entered the room, he turned to greet the priest with a wide smile. "Good morning, Seth."

Seth bowed slightly in greeting. "Good morning."

"Yugi, your friends will be here in a minute," Solomon added to the Pharaoh, who had sat down in a chair and was pulling on a pair of heavy boots.

"Thanks, Grandpa," Yugi said with a smile. Seth had missed the exact moment of transformation; one moment the Pharaoh had been sitting there, and the next, his strong, regal face and compelling eyes had been replaced by all of Yugi's sweet innocence. Seth shook his head and took a seat next to him.

"Have you looked outside, Seth?" Yugi asked, struggling with the laces of the second boot. "No," he said, as Seth made to rise. "Don't look yet. I want it to be a surprise."

Seth sank back into the chair, now thoroughly confused. Yugi beamed him another huge smile as Shimon- no…_Solomon_; Ra, this was hard to keep straight- set a huge plate brimming with food in front of his grandson, who dug in with a relish.

Seth was in the middle of his own breakfast when the kitchen door banged open and Yugi's friends all piled in. A strange white substance clung to their jackets and boots, and Joey was laugheding as he brushed it out of his tousled yellow hair. Seth opened his mouth to ask a question, then glanced at Yugi's face and closed his mouth again. It looked like his questions would have to wait. He settled for taking another bite of breakfast.

"Aren't ya done yet, Yug?" Joey demanded. "Let's go!"

"Give him a minute to finish getting ready, Joey," Tea scolded with a laugh.

"And to finish his breakfast," Duke Devlin added. He caught sight of Seth. "Wow," he muttered. "I still can't get over how much that guy looks like Kaiba."

"Only he's less of a prick than that' snotty Rich Boy," Joey said, casually throwing an arm around Seth's shoulders. "How 'bout it, Seth? Are ya ready to have some fun?"

Seth shrugged the other boy's arm from his shoulder and arched an eyebrow. "Am I going to enjoy this…_fun_?"

"Course you will!" Joey said, laughing. "Everybody loves snow!"

_Snow? _Seth looked at Yugi, mystified. Yugi laughed. "You'll see in a minute. Just put on your jacket. Oh, and you should probably wear a scarf and gloves too."

A pair of items that had taken some explaining. Now, however, he understood them better - it was much colder in Domino than in Egypt - and at any rate, he was too curious now to complain. Instead, he slipped into the brand-new winter jacket, wrapped the scarf around his neck without protest, and pulled on a pair of warm, fleece-lined gloves.

Yugi smiled. "Looks like you're ready to go." He stood up and started to carry his plate to the sink, but Solomon shooed him away.

"Go outside," he said. "I'll clean up."

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Yugi said, grabbing his jacket and racing for the door.

"Yeah, thanks Gramps!" Joey called, already outside. With loud whoops, Tristan and Duke followed.

"Aren't you coming?" Tea asked Seth. Even more curious than before, Seth followed.

In the doorway, he stopped and stared in astonishment. The whole world had gone white. The same strange substance that had stuck to hair and boots lay all across the ground, already some five or six inches deep. Joey and the others were already tromping across it, laughing and rolling in places where it had drifted.

"What…what is it?" Seth asked, taking a step forward. Instantly, his feet sank into the stuff, and he jumped backward to the safety of the porch.

Yugi just laughed. "It's snow!"

"Snow?"

"C'mon," Joey said, "this can't be the first time you've ever seen snow!"

Tea smacked him. "Ow! What was that' for?" Joey complained.

Very slowly, like someone speaking to an idiot, Duke said, "They don't get a lot of snow in Egypt."

Joey gaped at Seth. "You've _never_ seen snow?"

Mutely, Seth shook his head. He picked up a handful of the stuff with a bare hand. Almost immediately, he yelped and dropped it. "It's cold!"

The Pharaoh laughed. "Yes, it is. I reacted much the same way the first time _I _saw snow." He was delighted to see an expression of childlike wonder spread across Seth's face, wiping away the worry lines and his often somber attitude. In an instant, Seth had become the child he was, experiencing snow for the first time.

Seth picked up another handful- this time _with _gloves- and studied it. It was soft and powdery, looking something like wool, but at the same time…not. It was like no solid he had ever seen, but it was not a liquid either. And as he watched, it began to _disappear_! He gasped in surprise. "What magic is this?"

"It's just melting," Tristan explained. "Snow's mostly frozen water."

"Water?" Seth said dubiously, studying the material again. He was having a hard time reconciling the little white flakes he held in his hands with the same substance as the mighty Nile that he remembered. Surely this could not be the same material?

Joey laughed. "Yeah, but the best part of snow is _this_!" And with that, he threw a snowball straight at Tristan. It collided with a wet _splat! _

"Hey, no fair!" Tristan yelled. He grabbed a handful of snow and hurled it back at Joey, but the snow wasn't tightly compacted enough and fell apart.

"Yoau'll have to do better than that to get me!" Joey teased, throwing another snowball.

Seth watched for a moment, bemused, as the two of them began chasing each other back and forth in front of the game shop, throwing snowballs and cursing all the while. Then he went back to scrutinizing the handful of snow.

He popped it into his mouth. Almost immediately, a rush of coldness coated his tongue, filling his mouth with the sweet taste of water. He swallowed, reveling in the purity of it.

"Hey, be careful!" Tea said. "You don't know how clean that is!"

"Relax, Tea, we've all eaten snow before," Duke said. "It didn't hurt us any."

"Well," drawled a new voice from behind them, "except for the _obvious_ brain damage."

They all turned to see Seto Kaiba making his way towards them. He looked the same as he always did: black pants, black shirt, white coat. His only concession to the weather seemed to be a pair of black leather gloves. In one hand, he carried his silver briefcase.

"What are you doing here, Rich Boy?" Joey demanded, clenching his fists.

Kaiba smirked. "Down, dog. I'm just here to speak with Mr. M…"

_SPLAT! _

Absolute silence.

"Wheeler," Kaiba said, in a slow dangerous tone, wiping the snow from his face. "I'll make you pay for tha…"

"It wasn't me!" Joey protested. "I swear!"

Kaiba's narrowed, but something in Joey's voice seemed to convince him. He turned to look at the rest of the gang.

"Who. Threw. That?" Kaiba asked, his voice still dangerously calm. His eyes swept over each of Yugi's friends in turn.

His gaze finally fell on Seth.

Seth was looking at him, his innocent expression ruined by the fact…well…that he wasn't wearing one. In fact, he was smirking. When Kaiba glared at him, he only smiled wider. "Sorry, Seto," he said sweetly, sounding not in the least apologetic.

"Priest," Kaiba ground out through gritted teeth. "How dare…"

_SPLAT! _

The briefcase dropped to the ground. Without a word, Kaiba bent down and began gathering snow. Seth just stood there, still smirking. When Kaiba stood back up, he was smirking too.

Joey caught sight of the snowball in Kaiba's hand. "Hey Rich Boy," he protested. "You can't throw that. It's mostly i…"

Too late. The ball struck Seth in the shoulder. Seth staggered back with a grunt of pain as the iceball shattered. He caught himself against the door frame and glared back at Kaiba.

"That was unworthy of you, Seto," he said severely, eyes narrowed. Then he smirked. "But I suppose I would have done the exact same thing." _SPLAT!_ "Except I would have had better aim."

What followed was a fast and furious snowball fight. This had none of the playfulness of Tristan and Joey's; this had all the intensity of a gladiatorial combat, a fight to the death. Kaiba's anger was channeled into focus, and his snowballs were flung with deadly speed and power. Seth's mocking smile did not hide his concentration, his utter absorption in the game. _His _snowballs impacted with frightening accuracy, and soon Kaiba's entire body was coated with ice and snow. But Seth could not dodge them all either.

"Hey guys," Tea said, looking worried. "Calm down…"

Neither of them paid any attention.

Solomon Mutou appeared in the door. "What the devil…?"

Joey was cheering. "Yeah, show that Rich Boy!" he called to Seth.

As if on cue, a perfectly aimed iceball hit Kaiba in the stomach. As he doubled over, a second, slightly softer, hit him in the face. Gasping, he sprawled backwards into the snow.

Seth walked over to him and looked down at his other half. Kaiba stared up at him hatefully, his hair plastered to his head by snow and blood dribbling from a cut lip.

"And now I will do what you would not, Seto," Seth said quietly, and extended a hand to help him up.

"I don't need your help!"

"I know you don't," Seth said serenely. He didn't move.

Kaiba stared at him for a long moment, and Seth stared evenly back. Then, slowly, as though fearing he would be burned, Kaiba grabbed the proffered hand and used it to haul himself to his feet. He jerked away almost immediately, brushing off his clothes and reaching down to pick up his briefcase. As he leaned down, Seth reached out and casually wiped the snow from his double's hair. The others stared at them in astonishment.

"Come, Seto," Seth said. "I believe you wished to speak with Mr. Mutou?"

"One thing, Priest," Kaiba growled as he followed Seth towards the door and the flabbergasted Solomon Mutou. "Don't. Call. Me. Seto."

"And my name's not Priest."

They stared at each other for another long moment. Then Kaiba snorted and turned. "I have business to discuss," he said, crossing the last few feet to the front door. "Mr. Mutou, may I speak with you in private?" Without another word, he entered the game shop.

Solomon Mutou gave his grandson and his friends a bewildered look before slowly following Kaiba inside. The door shut behind him.

In the dumbfounded silence that followed, Seth turned to the Pharaoh, triumph in his eyes. "Well, my king," he said. "It looks like snow has its own magic after all."


End file.
